Text of the provision
Art. 74. The property relationship between husband and wife shall be governed in the following order:
(1) By marriage settlements executed before the marriage;
(2) By the provisions of this Code; and
(3) By the local custom.
(118)
Family Code of the Philippines, Executive Order No. 209, approved July 6, 1987. The Code took effect on August 3, 1988 (Republic v. Orbecido III, G.R. No. 154380, October 5, 2005). Reproduced in full.
What this article means
Article 74 opens Title IV by fixing the hierarchy of sources that governs a couple's property relationship: first, any marriage settlement the spouses executed before marrying; second, the Code's own default rules if there is no settlement or it is incomplete; and only third, local custom.
In practice, most couples never execute a marriage settlement, so the Code's own default regime — the absolute community of property under Article 75 — governs the overwhelming majority of marriages.
Related provisions
- Article 75 — the default regime of absolute community of property.
- Article 147 and Article 148 — property rules for unions without a valid marriage, by contrast.
Cases interpreting this article
- Authorities on the Article 74 hierarchy of property-regime sources will be added here as each is verified against primary sources.